


I Don't Want To Fall In Love

by followmetoyourdoom



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Reveal Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-02-09
Packaged: 2018-05-19 06:21:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5956846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/followmetoyourdoom/pseuds/followmetoyourdoom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After almost three years, Hawkmoth is defeated. But, now that there's no need for Paris' two superheroes, what are they going to do? Especially when the pair have already been dating for a while and yet still don't know each other's identities...</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Don't Want To Fall In Love

**Author's Note:**

> Just so you know, the title seems to be a tiny bit misleading, but you'll understand it when you reach the end.

The kiss is so sweet, yet surprisingly sullen. So slow, yet haltingly brief. Inviting, but her mouth shifts only in the slightest. It's a kiss that reminds them of the hard times they've just been through, but that welcomes the good times that are to come with open arms. It's a kiss that marks the end of an era and the dawn of a new age.

Orange sparks from the explosion that even Ladybug hasn't been able to fix fall around them as the pair embrace. Ladybug grips the back of Chat's head, her fingers splayed against his scalp and her thumb brushing one of his cat ears idly. It twitches every time she does so and it only makes her love him more. She knows that now more than ever, knows that she loves him. Always has really.

As for Chat, well he's loved Ladybug since the first time they took down an akuma together almost three years ago. Now he's just glad it's all over. And that at the end of it all, he's here with his Lady.

"Now what?" asks Ladybug when Chat pulls back so they can see each other. "We've finally defeated Hawkmoth but we're going to change back soon," as if in response to this, her miraculous beeps, Chat's shortly follows, "and it'll be the last time we do."

Chat nods somberly, "I'll really miss fighting alongside you, My Lady."

"We could, we could still see each other," it's more of a hopeful wish than anything else. Damn this stupid cat and how he's gently weaved his way into her heart.

Their miraculouses beep for the second time.

"We could, but not as Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"No… It wouldn't be fair on-"

"-Plagg-"

"-Tikki-"

In the silence that follows, their miraculouses beep again, jolting them back into reality.

"Maybe we'll find each other in real life," Ladybug muses.

Chat's hands are still holding onto Ladybug's arms and he gives them a gentle squeeze. "Or maybe we already have."

Another beep. Only two minutes left.

Ladybug looks ready to agree but then shakes her head forcefully, "Maybe, but I…" she bites her lip, "I want you to know who I am. I don't want to wait to find you. Now that it's all over, it doesn't matter right?"

Chat surveys the area, checking for civilians, but they're alone amidst the wreckage of Hawkmoth's hideout.

"It's okay if you don't want to show me who you are," Ladybug says, making Chat look back at her, "I'll understand if-"

The last beep cuts her off.

Chat takes the opportunity to talk before Ladybug can carry on, "If you're giving me the honour of revealing who you are, then how can I not do the same?" he takes her chin in his hand gently. "I can deal with not being Chat Noir anymore, but I can't deal with losing you."

"I don't want to lose you either," Ladybug whispers as her miraculous beeps three times in quick succession. There's a flash of light and there stands Marinette, her head bowed and her hands cupping what must her kwami.

Before he can react, Chat's miraculous follows suit and he's back to being Adrien again. Plagg flies out of his ring without one of his usual sarcastic comments and heads straight towards Marinette.

She's still not looked up, but her eyes widen as she sees the little cat kwami flying at her.

Plagg in fact straight up ignores Marinette and instead pulls Tikki into a hug, sending the pair airborne.

Marinette smiles and turn her head to watch them float past her. It's only when Adrien clears his voice that she finally does look at him. And she just stares.

"Marinette?"

A weird seal like sound comes out of her mouth and she quickly claps her hand over it.

"I'm sorry if I'm not what you expec-"

"You stupid cat!" Marinette shouts, catching the kwamis' attention as she pokes him in the chest, "I had a crush on you for two entire years and then you made me fall for… well you! And now you're the same person?" At this point she's tugging on her pigtails. "How did I not see that?"

Adrien's confused look turns into a sly grin, "Aw you had a crush on me? That's embarrassing," he says with a wink.

"YOU HAD A CRUSH ON ME TOO! YOU STILL DO, WE BOTH DO, WE'RE DATING!"

Plagg decides that now is the perfect time for him to pipe up. It really isn't.

"If it helps," mutters the cat kwami, still holding onto Tikki and knowing full well that what he's about to say will not help in the slightest - quite the opposite in fact - "you did just kiss her."

Adrien gives his kwami a look that seems to imply a certain 'No shit, Sherlock', while Marinette's eye twitches as she remembers all the moments she's shared with Chat. When she'd started falling for Chat and her interest in Adrien had wavered slightly, she'd become more nervous around Chat. Though not as nervous as she'd once been around Adrien.

But Chat is Adrien. She's just kissed Adrien.

All of a sudden her 15 year old crush comes flooding back and she turns bright red. "I've kissed you…" she says quietly.

"On multiple occasions," he teases, "Would you like to again?" He's grinning like he's still wearing his Chat Noir get-up.

Adrien is completely taken aback when Marinette actually does kiss him. Really he should have seen that coming.

She kisses him to prove to herself that she can, to stop his stupid smirk and of course because, despite how annoying he's being, she really does love him. All of him.

It's that thought that causes her to pull back, "Why haven't you commented on my real identity?"

"Mmm I wha-?" Adrien is smiling blissfully, clearly unaware of what she's just said.

She raises an eyebrow, nice to know she has that effect on him at least. "You know how I feel about you, about Adrien, about Chat," her voice loses some of its dominance as she nervously asks, "So how do you feel about Marinette? Could you fall in love with her too?"

Adrien doesn't know what to say, how can he explain how utterly overjoyed he feels now, knowing that the girl he loves is also one of the sweetest and kindest people he knows in real life.

"I see…" Marinette says, taking his silence the wrong way. "Sorry to have disappointed you."

She turns to leave but her shoulder is caught by a firm but gentle hand.

"Marinette," Adrien begins. "I'm sorry _I'm_ such a disappointment. That I wasn't-" he shushes her when she tries to protest, "-I wasn't able to see that you're Ladybug. You're so brave, so caring, so confident! As Ladybug and as Marinette."

And when Marinette stares up at him, with hope and surprise shining in her eyes, along with something else Adrien can't describe, well, he can't help but fall in love with her all over again. Just like she'd asked a few moments ago.

Wait, no. Not _falling_ in love.

"What?"

Adrien looks at her, not knowing what she's referring to, "What?"

"What you said, if it isn't not falling in love then…"

Oh, he'd said that out-loud.

"...what is it?"

And suddenly he knows just what to say.

"I don't like the idea of _falling_ in love," he begins, taking her hand and focusing all of his attention on her fingers, "I don't like it, because there's this unspoken assumption that you can also fall _out_ of love. Which can sometimes be the case but nevertheless it's not the way I want love to be for me. For us."

Adrien shifts his gaze now, and he's pouring everything, every little part of his soul into her eyes, into her soul. "I want to walk into love with you, to dance into love with you, to leap into love with you with all my heart!" He smiles at her, squeezing her hand softly. "Yes, you can walk away," he continues solemnly, "and yes the dance will end, and your feet will eventually return to the ground.

"But," he says, using his free hand to brush a stray lock behind her ear, "walking is slow, like when you first meet a person and get to know them. A dance is music personified and has ups and downs which make the whole thing just work together in harmony. And leaping, oh leaping takes you to places you never even thought possible, to cross things you never even thought you could!"

He had placed both hands on either side of her cheeks, but now he lowers both along with his gaze. "Falling is just... falling. It's not slow, there's only down, and only the place it takes you to, is the end. The 'out'." Adrien sighs sadly, remembering his mother's words to his father before she left them both, "To fall in love is such a dream from fairytales, where the end will always undoubtedly be 'happily ever after', and the cameras stop rolling before the out even begins."

Marinette reaches up to wipe a tear off his cheek and he crumples into her.

"I want," he says between small sobs, "I want to able to choose how I love."

She strokes his head gently, letting him cry for as long as he wants. Never rushing him to stop, or belittling him for crying - for being a 'softie'. No she's just... there for him. And he's never felt more like he deserves less.

Adrien tears himself away from her so he can look her in the eye, so she can see the honesty that lies in them. For this time, should _she_ leave, he'll know what to expect. He has his father as an example to thank for that. "And if, if it turns out to be falling… at least I'll be prepared for the crash landing."

Marinette opens her arms again, and he falls into them, without even questioning it, because he knows she'll catch him.

"Let's not fall in love," she whispers as she holds him close, "let's fly into love. Let's fly across the rooftops like we usually do, and find love as we go, like a never ending puzzle." This time it's Marinette who pulls back so Adrien can see the sincerity in her eyes. "Because I will never stop loving you more and more each and every day."

"I'd like that," he says. "I'd like that a lot."

**Author's Note:**

> See what I mean? He doesn't want to fall in love, he just wants to be in love. Also yeah, Adrien's whole love speech the end is my 3am musings that I thought I'd write down just in case those 'words of wisdom' would come in handy at all. Guess a fic counts (;


End file.
